This Red String Led Me to You
by YuriAllDahWay
Summary: Hatsune Miku is an average seventeen-year-old high school student, who has a particular liking to a certain pink-haired woman who just so happens to ride the same bus. When a certain incident occurs and Miku forgets her scarf on the bus, the same stranger returns the scarf to Miku, which leads to something so much greater than a simple "friendship".
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay, okay. Here I am with another potential multi-chapter Negitoro. Now, regarding my first one, _Midday Meetings, _I'm sad to say that most likely that I'm not going to continue it. I honestly have no idea what to do with the plot, and it feels like a jumbled mess. Although I won't be deleting it, just in case I do go back to it, the chances of that happening are very, very slim. So I decided to make it up by making another one that hopefully I won't be abandoning because I actually feel good about this one. I'm sorry to disappoint, but I really hope that this first chapter makes up for it. Ah, that's it for my really long rant about _Midday Meetings_. **

**As usual, support, critique, and others are always appreciated. Hope you enjoy.**

**Ciao. c:**

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Miku could only breathe a sigh of relief as she finally boarded the bus, the doors closing right behind her. Clutching her handbag tightly against her body, she maneuvered through the aisle, muttering quiet excuses and pardons as she tried to go to her usual seat. Much to her relief—and surprise, considering how tightly packed the bus was—the bus seat was empty, almost as if it was waiting for her to arrive. Had the previous occupier left when she got on? Miku could only wonder for so long before she pushed all thoughts aside and sat down, scooting over to take her place next to the window. She gazed outside, watching the scenery start to go on by, the bus lurching a bit as it began to resume its journey to the next stop.

It roughly took Miku thirty or so minutes to make it to her stop, and another ten to fifteen minutes to walk to her house. She never minded the time it took for her to get home—in fact, it was the contrary. She enjoyed the riding the bus because for some odd reason, it relaxed her. Or rather, it was because of a certain person in this particular bus that relaxed her.

As the bus lumbered down and jostled down the road, more and more occupants filed out. Eventually, the vehicle was almost empty, save for several more people, Miku including. The sun was now looming over the horizon, the sky now being painted with an indigo color. Now that the people in front of her were no longer blocking her way, Miku felt her eyes trail over to her left. There, just a row down, was a pink-haired woman, her attention being grasped by the paperback novel in her hand. Her light, cerulean eyes were absolutely captivating, and even the most basic gesture of turning the page or tucking hair behind her ear was just graceful as a dancer.

For a long while now, Miku Hatsune had been quietly observing the woman from a distance. The first time that Miku actually took notice of her was a month ago, when she spotted an unfitting color of light pink protruding from the daily and monotonous color of black and white of other citizens, usually businessmen and women. At first, it had just been mild curiosity, but eventually, for some odd reason, it had flourished into a 'small' crush.

_But having a crush on someone that I don't know anything about is a bit farfetched. I suppose it's more of…curious interest. _

Miku sighed heavily and averted her gaze from the woman to look outside the window. Many people usually identified themselves with a set orientation, but Miku did not. Or rather, she did not even know what to associate herself with. Yes, she looked at men, but she also looked at women as well—the pink-haired stranger was a fine example. For a while, Miku was convinced that she was bisexual, but then she just decided that what she was classified as should not bother her at all, and decided to stick with "I simply don't care about gender". Of course, neither her friends nor parents knew nothing about her preferences.

Suddenly, a very familiar, suburban setting was now blurring past her; it was only a matter of a few, short minutes until Miku would have to get off the bus. The buildings cleared for a split second, and the teen could see that the sky was now a dark blue.

_It's got to be past seven by now, _Miku sighed heftily through her nostrils, _knowing Mom, she's probably pacing across the living room, to the dining room, to the kitchen, and back. If I don't make it by eight, she's going to most likely throw a panicked frenzy, and Dad will have to try his hardest to calm her. _

The bus lurched to a slow, screeching stop, and Miku was the lone person who stood. With timid urgency, she walked down the aisle. Of course, the deity of balance decided to turn against her, and Miku found herself falling towards the floor, a result of tripping over her own foot. She hit the ground with a _thud, _the contents of her handbag spilling across the bus floor. Miku could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment as she quickly clambered to her knees to gather her belongings. She did not register the soft rustling beside her, or the pink hair that very clearly stuck out in her peripheral vision. Only when the stranger placed her hand on Miku's shoulder did the teenager look up. When she did, Miku recoiled violently and nearly slammed her head against a seat. She could feel her cheeks burning with incredible heat as she could only stare on at the beautiful woman with wide eyes.

The stranger only placed on a confused frown, but her blue eyes twinkled with concern. "You're not hurt, are you?"

Flustered, Miku could only shake her head 'no' before quickly gathering her things and racing out of the bus as soon as possible. She leapt over the small flight of stairs to the sidewalk, and ran a short distance away from the bus stop. Eventually she decided to slow to a stop to catch her breath.

_Oh God, why did I have to run away like that? Now she probably thinks that I'm rude or something like that. _Miku buried her face in her hands, unbelieving at herself. The warmth of her face contrasted very much to the wintry air around her. Sighing into her palms to warm them just a tad, the teenager lowered her hands to adjust her handbag, and then up again to fix her scarf.

The only problem was that her scarf disappeared from her neck.

"No, I swore I had it!" Miku desperately crouched to the ground, opened her bag (although she almost tore it because of how frantic she was), and rummaged around for her beloved scarf. Her mind thought back to when she left the house, to when she arrived at school, to when she boarded the bus. She had it on the entire time so that meant—

"Oh my God, I left it on the bus!" Miku once more covered her face with her hands, unbelieving at herself. "That scarf was also Mother's—"

"I'm assuming this is yours?" A vaguely familiar voice compelled Miku to turn around. When she did, she could only throw her arms around the beautiful pink-haired stranger offering her a red scarf in gratitude. Once the teenager pulled back, she found herself sinking deeper into the awkward atmosphere she created for the both of them. She coughed into her fist, not sure on what to say next; she had just hugged the woman on impulse.

The woman seemed to pick up that Miku had nothing to say to break the silence, so the stranger smiled softly and laughed. "Judging by your actions, I'm guessing this _is _yours."

Miku nodded, a smile splitting her face. "Yeah, it is. My mother gave it to me when I was younger. Well, my biological one." Her smile ran away for a moment, but it came back just as quickly. "A-anyways, thank you so much. You don't know how much this really means to me."

The other laughed again, her quiet, gentle laugh. Miku was positive she never heard anything so melodic in her entire life until that moment. "It's no problem, really. It was the right thing to do, after all. Plus, I wanted to know if you were okay. Taking a fall like that on the bus must've hurt, right?" The woman flashed a sympathetic smile at the younger woman, and the latter felt her heart melt at the sight of it.

Regardless, Miku still shook her head. "No, it didn't. I, uh, appreciate you bringing me the scarf and checking up on me but," Miku pursed her lips as a very minute amount of guilt tugged on her, "you probably got off at the wrong stop, huh?"

The woman laughed again, this time shaking her head no. "It's fine, I meant to get off at this area anyways. I'm supposed to meet up with several friends of mine somewhere." She proceeded to wrap the red scarf in her hand around Miku's neck, a gesture that completely took the latter off guard. The teen could only stand there with red cheeks as the woman finished her job. When she did, she affectionately patted the teen's head with a smile. "You should probably make your way home now. It's already," she paused to check her wristwatch, "past 7:30."

Miku's teal eyes widened with surprise. "It's already past 7:30?! Oh God, my parents are going to pop a blood vessel worrying about me!"

The stranger gave another one of her smiles before beginning to walk past Miku. "Well, since the sun's almost gone, I think I should escort you home. It might be dangerous for either of us if we walk alone anyways."

Miku nodded in quiet agreement and took her place next to the woman, walking to her house together.

_This honestly can't be happening—me, walking with the woman that I just so happen to have an interest in? No way. There's no way this can be happening. _

But even with her disbelief of her current situation, Miku found herself pleasantly chatting away with the woman. It turns out that her name was Luka Megurine, a sophomore in college, studying music. She lives in an apartment complex with a roommate (whom Luka described as "rash and completely irrational in everything she does"). Luka also holds a part-time job in a restaurant (or was it a café? Miku unfortunately zoned out during that time) to pay for rent and other necessities. Luka also began to talk about how she took a year leave after she graduated from high school, mainly because she just wanted some time to relax, not wanting to fill her schedule up again with schoolwork once more.

Eventually the conversation began to shift to Miku's side. The teen grew up as an only child, and her mother had passed away when she was roughly seven or eight-years-old (at this, Luka gave a sympathetic "sorry" before wrapping an arm around Miku's shoulders. The latter, of course, enjoyed the gesture very much). She began to go into detail on how the scarf was the last gift she ever received from her mother before her death, and how she had cherished it all this time (Miku also managed to slip in another thank you to Luka, but the latter dismissed it rather easily). After a small silence of sadness, Miku went on to change the subject about school, what school activities she partakes in, and why she came much later than she should have (it was all because of after-school duties, which Miku absolutely loathes with all her being).

During one of their conversations however, a small breeze drifted between them. Luka shivered and tugged Miku closer to her for warmth. The teal-haired teenager had no complaints whatsoever.

"Can't believe I forgot my scarf at my apartment today," Luka mumbled, her breath coming out in white puffs.

"You can borrow my scarf if you want." Miku instantly offered, reaching up to undo the garment from her neck.

Luka shook her head no. "It's fine, you don't have to do that. I'll live one night without a scarf, honest." She laughed and tucked in her chin as best as she could into the high collar of her coat.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely positive."

"You might catch a cold."

"Still better than you getting one." Luka gave a cheeky grin with her remark, which the other responded with a soft frown and burning cheeks. "You know, you're being a little too nice to me, considering how we just met today." Her grin turned into a playful smile. "Shouldn't you be a little more wary around strangers?"

"Are you sure you can say that, considering how you delivered my scarf and even tried to help me gather my things?" Miku's reply came out in an indignant tone.

"Touché, Hatsune-san. But the second part doesn't really count, since you ran off afterwards."

Miku pursed her lips and crossed her arms defiantly. "It most definitely does."

Luka gave another one of her charming laughs. "If you say so."

They walked next few meters to Miku's house in silence, with Luka's arm around the small teenager, providing the both of them some form of warmth together. It took time for Miku to recognize the pink-haired woman's perfume, but when she did, she relished being bathed in the familiar scent of flowers. Once they approached a particular house in Miku's neighborhood, the teenager separated from the older woman. She gave a soft smile at Luka and awkwardly covered her mouth with her scarf.

"Thank you for everything you have done for me today. I really appreciate it." Her voice was slightly muffled, and she tried to smile, but then realized that her scarf covered it. She felt stupid for even trying.

"Like I've told you many times, it's no problem at all. I just did what was right." Luka repeated for the umpteenth time that night.

The moon was now beginning to rise over the crooked horizon of rooftops, illuminating Luka's silhouette with a silvery aura of sorts. Miku just could not help but stare into the homely blue of the woman's eyes.

"Well, I think it's time we depart for the night, don't you think?" Luka gave another one of trademark smiles. Miku, on the other hand, was not feeling enthusiastic at all about leaving the other. Her eyes trailed down to stare at the sidewalk instead.

"Yeah, I think so too. Good evening to you, Megurine-san." Miku uncovered the lower half of her face to smile at the pink-haired woman. Luka returned it with an even bigger one and reached out with her arms, almost as if expecting an embrace. Tentatively, Miku took a tiny step forward, only to have her cheeks cupped by Luka's warm hands. Her body froze up instantly by the touch, and she could feel her cheeks and ears sizzle. The teenager could hear Luka sigh amusedly as she came closer, a very soft, and very playful smile on her lips. As she came even closer, Miku instinctively shut her eyes tightly, her body tensing up as she became very aware of how Luka was getting. Then, oh so gently, she felt a pair of soft, but slightly chapped lips tickle the very tip of her nose. Once Luka pulled back just enough Miku released the breath that she had been holding, her body relaxing just a bit as well. Shyly, the teen looked up to observe the smiling face of Megurine Luka.

"Good evening to you as well. I'm very glad that I was able to meet you tonight, Miku-chan."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Wow, this chapter turned out a lot longer than I expected. Oh well. It took me a long time to revise the ending, but now I think I'm satisfied with how this turned out to be. Hope you enjoy. **

**Ciao. c:**

* * *

Luka's eyes flittered open, her body jolting a bit in bed as she heard the door to her bedroom crash open. She let out a sigh, already knowing who it was. There was a throbbing sensation resonating throughout her skull, most likely the result of the hangover that the pink-haired woman was experiencing. As a sign of "I'm hungover and do not want to get up at this moment, try again later", Luka buried half of her face into the fluffy pillow that she was holding in her arms.

But being the way Lily is, the blonde continued to persist in her efforts, and decided that pulling the blankets off of Luka was an ideal way to wake her up.

"Rise and shine, you piece of—umf!" Lily was cut off as the pink-haired woman sent a pillow flying in the air, meeting contact with the blonde's face. Lily was then sent on a one-way course to the floor.

Luka Megurine was, by all means of appearances, refined, intelligent, collected, and the epitome of a lady by every definition. Everyone who knew her thought very highly of her and her amiable personality and feminine charm just so happened to seal the deal. But for those who _truly _knew the pink-haired woman would add a few more extra notes to the list. Luka was also lazy, unmotivated, prone to be a bit too violent (especially if it came to her roommate and friend, Lily), a bit of a drinker, and among other things that would surely surprise anyone not close to her.

"You couldn't have woken me up like a normal person." The pink-haired woman's tone made the statement seem more of an assertion than a question. Without waiting for Lily to reply, Luka gave a hefty sigh as she massaged her temples as she sat up. Her lips curled into a frown as she noted how terribly dry her mouth was. _Maybe I shouldn't have drunk that much last night. _The woman tried to think back, but all she remembered was chugging drink after drink; anything before or afterwards was either blurry or lurking in the darkest depths of her memory.

"Ugh, why do you throw so hard? I swear you can kill someone with this thing!" Lily was now sitting on the floor with Luka's pillow, her naturally messy hair even more mussed than usual.

Luka raised an eyebrow, an amused smile crawling its way up to split her face. "It's a shame that you weren't my first victim then."

It was the blonde's turn to frown. "Wow, way to be harsh."

The other ran her fingers through her pink hair, trying her best to untangle any knots she came across; eventually the task became too much work for her to handle without the use of a brush and she stopped, allowing her arm to flop back down. Her cerulean eyes drifted over to the alarm clock that rested on her drawer, across from her bed. The garish, red, neon light blared the time quite clearly for Luka: 6:45 in the morning.

_Wait, 6:45?_

"Holy crap Lily, I'm going to be late!" Luka's eyes widened with shock as panic began to settle underneath her skin. "Why didn't you tell me that I slept through my alarm? Hell, why didn't you wake me earlier?" She shook her head, throwing off the sheets off of her body; she would have to fight through her migraine this time. Quickly she made her way to her drawer, throwing open each shelf and picking out random pieces of clothing that appealed to her eye. Once she was done, she instantly grabbed the towel that was sitting idly on the top of the drawer. It seems that she would have to skip out on breakfast…again.

"Well, the thing is, I slept through the alarm too." Lily rubbed her neck and laughed almost nervously, causing the pink-haired woman to glare at her vehemently. The blonde responded said glare with an upturn of a brow and a crooked frown. "Hey, even though I'm a light sleeper, even I would sleep like a rock after what happened last night."

Luka softened her stare at the blonde and padded her way to the bathroom with her bare feet, an unspoken agreement with her roommate. "You're lucky you take night classes" was all she called out to Lily before locking the door behind her.

-x-

"Oh thank God, I made it on time," Luka mumbled, dropping her fee into the small box next to the driver. Tiredly (and almost annoyingly), she glanced up at the driver, who was a stout, balding man. But like his shape, his personality was big as well. Meeting her gaze, the man gave a hearty grin, something that Luka just could not stop herself from returning.

"Barely made it on time again, eh, Luka-san?" His laugh was loud and rambunctious, something that startled the pink-haired woman and some of the other passengers sitting near the front. "What was it this time? Studying, drama, relationship problems? Or maybe it was partying?" He gave her a bit of a side-eyed look, one that simply said, "I guessed it right, didn't I?"

Luka decided to go for an ambiguous approach and laughed, walking to her seat. "It's a good morning to you too, Kudo-san." Another laugh rang out through the vehicle before the bus lurched forward, going toward its next destination.

Settling into her seat, Luka gave a quick sigh before taking out the pocketbook that she had been reading yesterday. It had a complex plot, one that Luka herself was unsure of. The characters were a bit over-the-top, the scenes a bit hard to follow, but every now and then she always managed to get a few chuckles and smiles. Soon the bus had gone through two of its stops (with Kudo greeting each of the regulars with his laugh), and she was beginning to feel the effects of her migraine coming back. Bookmarking her page and setting the book aside, she opened up her purse and began rummaging through the items. So far she only managed to find her wallet, the book that she took notes in for college, a packet of gum, some long forgotten cough drops, a small bottle of water, but no pain killers.

"Ah, dammit, must have forgotten it on the tabletop," Luka clasped her purse closed picking up her novel and flipping to the page where she had left off. On instinct, she tucked in her chin a bit, trying to bury her nose in her scarf. Unfortunately, her scarf was not present around her neck, which caused her to close her eyes and sigh for the umpteenth time that morning. "And it looks like I have left behind my scarf again as well."

Just then, bus screeched to a stop, and the doors opened. The sound prompted Luka open her eyes just a bit, a bright teal immediately catching her eye.

"Well if it isn't Miku-chan! Good morning to you! Working hard as ever, I see!"

_Oh, I forgot that she took the same bus as me. _Luka looked up to see the smiling teenager, dropping her fee into the plastic box.

"Good morning Kudo-san. I didn't see you yesterday." Miku pointed out, something that the pink-haired woman had just now realized. _Perhaps he had a fever?_

"Ah, so you noticed!" Kudo gave one of his trademark laughs. "I was out with a fever, so I had to take the day off." He explained, speaking out Luka's thoughts exactly (well, almost). "But here I am, feeling top of the morning!" Another hearty guffaw came from the driver, to which Miku gave a feeble giggle before setting off to her designated seat near the back.

Then, for a moment, they shared eye contact.

It was a brief, fleeting second, but they did. Luka felt a prickling sensation in her chest, most likely because she was caught staring, and gave a quick upturn of her lips in quiet greeting. Miku's eyes grew wide (which was something that the pink-haired woman found awfully endearing) before turning an intense shade of red, similar to the color of the scarf around her neck. Shyly, she gave a small wave before rushing off. Luka could not help the growing smile on her face as she went back to reading, absentmindedly noting that her migraine was now ebbing away. _It seems that the medicine has decided to work again. Hopefully it lasts me through class. _

The bus rumbled on, and so did five more minutes. It took roughly an hour to get to college via bus, but the time could have been cut in half, maybe even more, if Luka had the audacity to ask her blonde friend to drive her. Luka only asked Lily when she knew that she would not be able to catch the bus on time, and she would always dread even setting a toe inside Lily's car; "atrocious" was an understatement when it came to describing the blonde's driving.

Deciding to check what time it was, Luka reached into her pocket to get out her phone. Pressing the lone button on the touchscreen device, the screen lit up. On top, large numbers told out the time.

7:41.

_Ah, I'm kind of early. _She realized, about to shove her phone back into her pocket. Suddenly, the device vibrated in her hand, prompting Luka to look at the text she just received. It was from Lily.

"_You forgot to bring the painkillers with you." _

"_Oh and your scarf." _

"Could have been timelier with your responses," Luka mumbled to herself, typing a quick "_I know_" before putting her phone back.

"U-uh, is it okay if I sat here?" A quiet, familiar voice compelled the pink-haired woman to look up. Luka smiled and scooted to the side, taking the spot next to the window.

"Of course, Hatsune-san," she watched as the younger teal-haired woman sat down, placing her handbag on her lap. "But isn't your usual seat somewhere over there?" Luka gestured behind her.

For a moment, Miku's expression morphed into one of panic before giving a nervous (and guilty-looking) smile. "A-ah, well, you see, someone took my spot, so I decided to sit here…" Her cheeks turned a subtle red.

_It's kind of adorable how easily red she turns whenever I talk to her, _Luka amusedly thought, closing her novel again. _But she's a rather lousy liar, isn't she? _

"Oh, you forgot your scarf again today," Miku commented. By the way she spoke it was as if she was merely thinking aloud.

Regardless, Luka still smiled, happy to have an amiable conversation with someone. "I did. I probably forgot it on the table before I left." _Even though I specifically told Lily to put it in my bag after I showered._

The younger woman hummed her response before looking off into space, as if she was thinking about something.

After a while they settled into a comfortable silence, the rumble of the bus the only thing they could hear. But Luka decided that conversation seemed much more appealing, so she nudged the teenager's shoulder with her elbow. This successfully captured Miku's attention, and Luka smiled.

"What career do you want to pursue once you get out of high school?"

Miku hummed in thought, her eyes drifting over to the side as she shrugged. "I don't know, honestly. I've always wanted to be an author of some sort because I love writing stories, but now I'm leaning towards something…musical."

The pink-haired woman smiled a bit, her curiosity very much piqued at the mention of music. Luka was always a fond lover of music, even when she was a child. She enjoyed discussing the topic, especially with people who shared the same interest and passion as her. In short, music was her life.

"Are you involved musically in school?"

Miku nodded, smiling a bit bigger than usual. "I'm in my school's choir. I joined only last year, but a lot of people say that I'm the best singer in the entire group." She gave a nervous, shaky laugh. "But I think they were just being nice…"

Luka shook her head. "I don't think they are. I can tell that your voice is very delicate by the way you speak, so I suppose it's only natural that it would sound good if you ever sang. Many people like a very soft, delicate, and charming voice which is something that you obviously have."

"T-thank you, it's really quite an honor to come from someone studying music. Although I think Rin just likes blowing things completely out of proportion…" She trailed off, her voice ending on a very quiet note as she sunk her chin into her scarf.

The pink-haired woman chuckled. "It's nothing really. I would love for you to sing for me one day, though." The bus slowed, and Luka knew that it was finally reaching her stop. Gathering her things, she gave a quick smile in Miku's direction. "Looks like I have to get off now. I hope I'll see you this afternoon, Hatsune-san."

"Miku."

Luka gave a questioning gaze in the younger woman's direction.

"Y-you can call me Miku. Since you called me by my first name last night when you…" Her cheeks turned into a very deep red, obviously recalling the events of the previous night.

The pink-haired woman smiled softly before walking out into the aisle. "Then you can call me Luka. I'll see you soon then, Miku." They gave quiet waves to one another as Luka got off the bus, Kudo's loud laugh trailing behind her as the bus went on to its next stop.

Luka sighed, her breath coming out as a white puff. _Better get going before I'm late. _Briskly, she walked towards her college, acknowledging several people that walked past with her a smile or a wave. Somewhere along the halfway mark (she knew that it was halfway because the café she worked at was in the middle of her route to college), she noticed a girl walking with a red scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face. Although her hair was black and her eyes were brown, she had an uncanny resemblance with Miku. Luka greeted the girl with a smile, and once they had passed each other, the pink-haired woman found herself thinking back to last night.

_Even if I do have a tendency to flirt around with people, it was still rather bold of me to do what I did._ A cold breeze blew past, chilling Luka's bare neck. She shivered and pulled the collar of her coat up even more. _And I just met her too. What in the world possessed me to do what I did? _She sighed again, feeling rather confused with herself. _Well she didn't _seem _to mind once I left, or when she mentioned it on the bus. _

…_But I didn't necessarily mind it either. Her reaction _was _kind of cute. _She chuckled to herself as the image of Miku's red face popped into her mind. _Although, if someone had caught us—especially if it was one of her parents—it would be a different story. _

Luka turned a corner, and walked through the college gate, being welcomed with the sight of a snow covered campus. A small smile crept up onto her face.

_Regardless, it did feel right. Miku _is _an interesting girl, after all._


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Very overdue update, I know. I'm sorry, but school just started this week and I just needed some time to get used to everything. I promise I'll try to get through to my other stories that I need to update (and the ones that I have planned) as soon as possible. Just bear with me, because school is becoming a little pain in the booty. **

**Hopefully this chapter isn't _too _disappointing. I had a little bit of trouble trying to progress the plot, but hey! At least I got something out of it. Enjoy. **

**Ciao. c:**

* * *

Roughly a week had passed since Luka and Miku began talking to each other on a daily basis. During this span of time they had exchanged emails and phone numbers, and contacted each other regularly. Their conversations were fairly normal, with a sprinkle of light teasing on the side. With each passing day, they got closer to one another, which frankly made Miku happy; only so many people could become friends with someone they have interest in.

The rumbling of the bus was carried along with the wind. As the distinct smell of gasoline wafted through the air, Miku hugged the small gift bag closer to her body. Peeking under, she could make out the small speck of red poking out from the multiple layers of wrapping paper. The teen smiled despite herself and it only grew bigger as she boarded the bus. Kudo exultantly greeted her as usual, and Miku gave her little, shy-like wave to the driver as she dropped her fee in the box.

"Top of the morning to you, Miku-chan!" His large belly rumbled with his laughter.

"Good morning to you too, Kudo-san," Miku smiled and gave a slight bow, then silently made her way to her now usual seat next to Luka. Timidly, she cleared her throat, capturing the pink-haired woman's attention away from the window. They exchanged their smiles and laughs in greeting.

"Bit too early for a Christmas present, don't you think?" Luka commented with a sly smile, eyeing the pink-colored bag in the other's arms. "Is it for someone special? Your crush, perhaps?" Her smile grew at this inquiry.

"N-no, it's not," Miku gave a shaky laugh. She certainly did not want her admiration for the pink-haired woman to be known yet. "It's actually a gift for you," she added very quietly, holding out the gift to Luka. The latter seemed very surprised, but it quickly morphed into an expression of humble gratitude.

"But I don't recall doing anything that deserves a gift." Luka took the bag and stole a quick glance to see what was inside before reaching in to take out what was inside. She studied the wrapping paper for only a mere second before unwrapping it to see what was inside. When she finally figured out what it was, her face broke into a rather large grin.

"Do you like it?" The teen meekly asked, fiddling with her fingers as she watched the pink-haired woman wrapped the scarf around her neck.

"Indeed I do. Is this handcrafted?" Miku nodded. Luka's eyes widened with awe. "You're rather talented."

The teal-haired teen laughed quietly. "My step-mom taught me. I remember her telling her that the only reason she taught me how to knit and sew was because she didn't want to spend any money on buying new scarves and gloves where you can just make them." It was then Luka's turn to laugh.

"That's understandable. But still," Luka held a flap in her hand, absently observing the design of the yarn, and ran her thumb to and fro to feel the texture. "What _did _I do to deserve this?"

The teen shrugged. "I guess for helping me out when we first met, I suppose."

"I thought I told you that you didn't need to thank me; I was just doing the right thing, after all."

Miku opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it rather quickly. In all honesty, Miku had made Luka the scarf because she just wanted to give her a gift for Christmas. Repayment for helping Miku out the first day that they met was just the perfect excuse, along with Luka's disappearing scarf. Realizing that she had been spacing out for a while, Miku turned to face the pink-haired woman, wanting to get conversation flowing between them once more.

"You've been staring at the scarf for a long time," Miku noted. This knocked Luka out of her stupor, and the woman gave a sheepish-like smile.

"Well, it's been a while since someone aside from family has given me anything, let alone a scarf. It's just…kind of nostalgic in a way."

Now Miku was intrigued. "What do you mean by nostalgic?"

"Well my grandmother used to knit my scarves when I was young because I would always lose or ruin them—a habit that I seem to still have after all these years," Luka paused to laugh at herself, "She would use this exact pattern when she made them, so it really does hit home for me." Her voice trailed off, the look in her eyes so somber and morose. Seeing such an expression on Luka's face was so frighteningly uncharacteristic, Miku instantaneously grabbed the woman's hand with hopes to see her smile again. Her goal was met, but it also came with a quizzical raise of Luka's eyebrow.

Miku could feel the tips of her ears burn as she tried her best to play it smooth. "I-I'm sorry for your loss."

Luka then grinned and started laughing uncontrollably, up to the point where there were little sparkles of tears near the corners of her eyes. The teen could only stare on, the epitome of confusion written all over her face. Once Luka composed herself, she wiped away the tears with the tips of her fingers.

"S-sorry," Luka mumbled, her shoulders shaking a bit as she was still wracked with giggles. "I know you didn't know, but she's still alive and kicking." She shook her head, her smile still plastered on her face. "My God, if she heard you, she would start yelling about absolutely nothing. Just the thought of it makes me laugh." She further proved her point as she chuckled.

Miku could only look at Luka with a slight frown. "So what was with the sad look on your face?"

The pink-haired woman's smile disappeared as she blinked several times. "There was?"

"Yes, there was."

Luka's smile came back, as if it could never be gone from her face for too long. "It was probably nothing, Miku," Luka squeezed the teen's hand in a comforting way. "But I do appreciate your concern."

And then, once more, the look came back. It appeared like a small critter, only visible for a split second before it bounded off when Miku caught sight of it.

In that moment, Luka looked like a lost child, meek and vulnerable.

But Miku quickly disregarded it and they spent the rest of the bus ride to Luka's college in silence, their hands never breaking apart from one another.

-x-

"Top o' the mornin' to you, Miku!" Rin exclaimed as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around Miku's neck, successfully causing the both of them on a trip to the floor. All heads turned towards them, but the only one that Miku had a full vision of was a certain green-haired girl.

"G-good morning, Gumi-chan."

"Morning, Miku." The young woman gestured for everyone to return to their businesses before helping the teal-haired teen and her blonde friend up. Her green eyes flicked over to Rin in a disapproving stare. The blonde, however, pretended not to notice it and tried to converse with the very girl she took to the floor.

"So did you do Hiyama's homework?"

"Rin, I don't think Kiyoteru-sensei would appreciate it if you just called him by his first name," Gumi interjected.

"Ah, quit being such a stick in the mud, Gumi! And what're you doin' in a second-year classroom, go back to your own, you old hag!"

"You brat, I'm only a year older!"

"The both of you are attracting attention," a soft male voice said. Turning, they all found Rin's younger twin, Len, standing behind the trio with a juice box in his hand. He raised his left in greeting. "So did you do Kiyoteru-sensei's homework?"

"Hey, I asked that too!"

Miku patted Rin's head in an effort to calm the exuberant energy oozing out of her. "I finished it."

Len smiled before taking a slurp of his juice, crushing the container in his fist, and threw it at the trash. He missed pathetically and Rin laughed at his attempt. "I need help with the assignment, so I thought we could hang out afterschool," he walked over to his deformed juice box to properly dispose of it. "If you don't mind or aren't busy, of course."

"What's the big rush about? Isn't it due the day before winter vacation?"

Soon, a pair of yellow, teal, and green eyes stared at Rin. She scrunched her nose up in confusion. "What?"

"Rin-chan…" Miku began, "tomorrow _is _the day before vacation."

All of a sudden, the blonde's face morphed into one of utter mortification. Quickly, she grabbed turned and grabbed onto Miku's shoulders, shaking them furiously. "Miku, help a sister out! You _gotta _help me with homework or else I'll never hear the end of it from my parents!"

"And by "help", she means, "copying your work," Gumi stated with a roll of her eyes.

Rin pointed at the green-haired girl. "Exactly!"

"How come you didn't work on it on the two weeks we were given?" Miku asked with a small, disapproving frown.

"She was too busy being unproductive." Len interjected, who was now seated at his desk in front of the class, balancing expertly on the two back legs of his chair.

"What he said." Rin stated a bit too proudly, nodding her head so that her ribbon followed her movements very dramatically.

"Guess it can't be helped," Miku said with a sigh and a smile. It was always like this, with Rin creating scenes, Gumi playing the straight man to Rin (although most of the time she would fail miserably), while Len just watched from a distance, trying to bring the two back into reality when was necessary. Miku only inputted her voice when she felt like it, mainly because she secretly wanted to see how things would unfold. It was how their friendship functioned, and Miku enjoyed it like that. "My place, then?"

"Sounds great!" Rin exclaimed. Len just gave a quiet thumbs up.

"Oh, I forgot to mention—" The bell caught Gumi in the middle of her sentence. The green-haired girl was not perturbed by it at all, and merely gave a wave as she walked towards the door. "Ah, never mind. I'll just send one of you a text after school, okay?" And after that, she was out the door.

-x-

"Ah, I can't go on!" Rin exclaimed as she dropped her pencil on the table, her head soon following after. "Why must Hiyama assign so much homework?"

Her twin glanced over at her paper before looking back at his, and then back at hers again. "You didn't even finish the first problem, Rin!"

"That's how bad it is!" Rin groaned and glumly looked at Miku across from the table. "Hey, Miku, let's take a break."

The said girl did not even cast a glance in the blonde's direction. "You'll never amount to anything if you just quit," Miku said, finishing up her text to Luka and setting her phone aside. Just as she was about to get back to work, she noticed the heavy gaze of her friend. She flicked her eyes up to meet it. "…Yes?"

"When did you get so proverbial?" Rin blatantly asked.

Miku shrugged and scribbled in her notebook. "I got it from my friend."

"The friend that you were just texting?"

"Yep."

"It wouldn't happen to be your _boy_friend, would it?"

Instinctively jumping on the defense, she exclaimed, "Of course not!" Rin, however, just grinned as if it was the exact response that she had been expecting.

"Suuuure it is! You can tell 'Lil ol' Rin anything, after all! So, is he hot?"

"It's not a guy! It's a woman named Luka!"

Rin's Cheshire-like grin grew. "Oh, so you swing that way?"

This was a hard jab in Miku's gut, and she felt her face heat up. She had no retort to say, because quite frankly, it was the truth. The deep, hidden truth was about to come out, and it absolutely scared the living hell out of her. Miku could feel the sting of tears prickling the back of her eyes.

Suddenly there was a soft vibrating noise, and everyone turned their head towards Len who was taking out his phone. It took a few seconds for him to read the message before he read it aloud.

"There's a café that a friend of mine took me to near the college district, so I was wondering if the three of you would like to come with me sometime next week." When Len was met with blank stares, he clarified, "It's from Gumi."

"O-oh, okay then." Miku cleared her throat to remove the waver in it. "Tell her that I may be free depending on the day."

"Yeah, tell her that I'm free next week too, since I have nothing to do then." Rin added, now balancing her mechanical pencil on the tip of her nose.

Len scoffed at his sister. "Implying that you even _have _anything to do anyways."

The older of the two slammed her fist on the table as she sat up straight. "Yes I do!"

As the two bickered (which consisted of Rin yelling at her brother while Len just let whatever his sister say fly over his head as he quickly typed his reply to Gumi), another noise caught Miku's attention. Realizing that it was from her phone, she checked the screen to see who it was from.

It was from Luka.

Quickly, she typed in her passcode and read the text the pink-haired woman sent her.

"_I don't think I properly thanked you for the scarf yet, so thank you. I'll see if I can repay you in full soon." _

Her panic from earlier simmered down rapidly as she imagined Luka's comforting warmth, and the soft kiss she felt on her nose when they first met. A smile crept up and pulled on her lips as she gave her quick response to Luka.

"_It's fine."_

And for a moment, Miku felt at amazingly at peace.


End file.
